Lauritta Onye

Started: She took up athletics in 2007 in Lagos, Nigeria. (Athlete, 08 Nov 2019) Reason: In 2007, after it was announced that the All-Africa Games would include events for athletes of short stature that year, she started training at the National Stadium in Lagos and was invited to join the national team. The All-Africa Games cancelled its events for athletes of short stature in 2007, but she continued training, and went on to win a silver medal at the 2011 All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. (Facebook page, 18 Jun 2021) Awards: She was Nigeria's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (medias.paris2024.org, 28 Aug 2024) Additional Info: ACTING WORK She has done acting work and starred in a 2015 Nigerian film called 'Lords of Money' under the screen name Laury White. "All I wanted to do was acting. I never dreamed of being a sportsperson. I wanted to be a superstar in acting, but I was fortunate to find myself in sports. I can't leave acting because that's what puts food on my table. The way I balance my sports career is through acting. I should have gone very far in acting but I've not because of sports. The reason I attained the heights in sports was because I put my acting career on hold and focused on sports. I gave sports 80% and acting 20%. But because of the disappointments I've suffered, it's now 50-50 [speaking in 2021]." (punchng.com, 04 Mar 2021, 30 Dec 2015; paralympic.org, 09 Jul 2019; Facebook profile, 14 Feb 2016) JAVELIN DEBUT She was victorious in the F40/44/46 javelin at the 2019 Grand Prix event in Tunis, Tunisia, which was her first time competing in javelin. "I'm happy, this is my first time throwing the javelin in a competition, I have never thrown a javelin in my life and now I have the experience of it, so I am very happy. I couldn't wait to compare with other people and I will do more of it." (paralympic.org, 02 Jul 2019)